Teed served 2 1/2 years in the post, putting in more hours than anyone else in the courthouse, County Judge Trey Duhon said at the election commission meeting. The county judge said he sometimes found Teed working in the Hempstead building at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.

"There's no doubt that you are leaving the elections office in much better shape and condition than it was when you came in," Duhon said.

There had been challenges but also a number of good things that came about during his tenure, Teed said. He thanked those with whom he collaborated.

Teed started in May, 2014 -- not long after the office had been re-created, he recalled in an interview. He made a point to bring on a diverse staff.

"I wanted to come and help be part of the solution," he said. "I wasn't interested in going against people. I was more interested in bringing people together by getting things done right."

Among the issues Teed and his team managed to do were getting equipment up to snuff, even after some was drenched during last spring's floods by a burst pipe. He dealt with a debate over an early-voting polling place at the historically black Prairie View A&M University -- which resulted in securing a spot for it in the center of the campus, as he wanted.

Teed also worked closely with the U.S. Department of Justice, he said. Knowing he was leaving, representatives came to visit him and go through outstanding issues Wednesday. With the November election complete, Teed, 45, said it seemed like the appropriate time to move on to something different.

"It's not so much a decision to resign as I think it is to get Waller County to the next stage," he said. "To be able to hand off the office successfully is sort of the final step in what I would consider success."

Teed will be succeeded by a current staff member, Vanessa Lopez, on Dec. 26. She will serve as the interim Elections Administrator until an official appointment is made in January.

"It's a big position," Duhon said in an interview. "This hire is important. It needs to be someone who's committed to keeping this office on track and continuing the work that Dan has begun."